Rapid Fire with Dr. Sumit D Chowdhury, Founder & CEO of Gaia Smart Cities

Belong to place: Jamshedpur

Studied at: Loyola School Jamshedpur, IIT Kanpur, Carnegie Mellon University, USA

Company: Gaia Smart Cities

What is your ideal day: These days, I start my day with a 4am run of 10-20k or cycle ride 40-50K, or work on my start-up, Gaia. I spend one hour getting children ready for school and then work for the next 15 hours meeting customers, investors, urban planners, government officials and my team. Family time is thrown in when possible.

What drives me the most: Having an impact in everything I do.

What are the most important three things in my life: My family, my health, my commitments.

Favorite gadget: My DSLR Nikon D810 Camera

Favorite food: My mothers’ prawn curry.

Favorite holiday destination: No favorite. Travelled to > 45 countries. Try not to repeat. Last destination Djibouti in Africa.

What are things I like to do alone: Play accordion or saxophone, read a book.

Last book I read: Curious, by Ian Leslie

If I could eliminate one thing from daily schedule, what would it be and why: those brief moments of laziness.

Which letter of the alphabet describes me best, how: I think X describes me best. I try having the x-factor in everything I do. X is also the most well balanced alphabet. As my name Sumit, means well-balanced, I live the meaning. X also means focus and is also a meeting point for ideas.

Most memorable event: The day I finished my first marathon (after being a couch potato for 36 years). Seven marathons later, it is now taken for granted.

One thing I like to change in myself: Stop doing too many things in parallel.

I never get tired of: Reinventing myself

5 years down the line I would be: A serial entrepreneur with a portfolio of investments in different ideas that solve problems with urban quality of life.

If not in IT industry, I would be: Architect and Urban Planner

Advice to budding Entrepreneurs: Have tenacity in your actions and develop curiosity to find the connections of life.

What’s my motto in life: Live life on the edge and having the curiosity to find meaning and connections in everything that happens.